Harrisburg overpass construction pending, along with painful closures

After a tumultuous 2014, a planned light rail overpass along Harrisburg near Hughes is nearing construction, but it won’t be an easy process.

Metropolitan Transit Authority board members are set to approve a $30.66 million construction contract on the half-mile overpass next week. The overpass is needed to complete the Green Line rail along Harrisburg to the Magnolia Park Transit Center, near Gus Wortham Golf Course, and to cross the Union Pacific freight rail tracks.

A cyclist walks his bicycle across the railroad tracks on Harrisburg near Hughes on Feb. 5, 2014. Metro will build an overpass of the tracks, which some in the area opposed. Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle

To mend fences with the community, Metro worked with neighbors to make the overpass look better than just a concrete riser. Plans include special lighting and designs in the concrete that reflect the area’s business and cultural heritage.

“The East End might have the most attractive overpass along the lines when this is built,” Metro board member Burt Ballanfant said.

McCarthy Building, the winning construction company, has 18 months to build the overpass, with incentives to finish sooner and costs if the project is delayed. Roberto Trevino, Metro’s capital programs manager, said some factors outside Metro and McCarthy’s control could affect the schedule. Union Pacific Railroad and local utilities must be consulted, and their issues and actions could affect when the work is finished, Trevino said.

Timing is crucial, and important to area residents, because the overpass work will require closing six blocks of Harrisburg for about four months, from Caylor to 66th Street. Detours are planned between Lockwood and Wayside to route traffic to Navigation during the closings.

“There is no way a contractor could succeed without a full closure,” Trevino said.

The effect on area residents will be severe. About 400 people live in the vicinity of the construction where access will be limited. About 9,000 live in the general area and will be affected by the closing. School children cross the freight tracks along Harrisburg to get to class.